Morning Book Group: A Marriage at Sea
Join the library's Morning Book Group in September as we return from our summer hiatus to talk about A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst.
The electrifying true story of a young couple shipwrecked at sea in the 1970s: a mind-blowing tale of obsession, survival, and partnership stretched to its limits. Maurice and Maralyn make an odd couple. He's a loner, awkward and obsessive; she's charismatic and ambitious. But they share a horror of wasting their lives. And they dream - as we all dream - of running away from it all. What if they quit their jobs, sold their house, bought a boat, and sailed away? Most of us begin and end with the daydream. But Maurice began to study nautical navigation. Maralyn made detailed lists of provisions. And in June 1972, they set sail. For nearly a year all went well, until deep in the Pacific, a breaching whale knocked a hole in their boat and it sank beneath the waves. What ensues is a jaw-dropping fight to survive on the wild ocean, with little hope of rescue. Alone together for months in a tiny rubber raft, starving and exhausted, Maurice and Maralyn have to find not only ways to stay alive but ways to get along, as their inner demons emerge and their marriage is put to the greatest of tests. Although they could run away from the world, they can't run away from themselves. Taut, propulsive, and dazzling, guaranteed to prompt big questions and strong opinions, A Marriage at Sea pairs adrenaline-fueled high seas adventure with a gutting love story that asks why we love difficult people, and who we become under the most extreme conditions imaginable.
This book is available to borrow from the library. Physical copies will be available at the circulation desk August 13. eBooks and eAudiobooks will be available from the Green Mountain Library Consortium via Libby. Visit this link for more information on how to get started with a digital copy.
Morning Book Group meets the second Thursday of the month in the library Board Room.
Email sbplprograms@southburlingtonvt.gov or call 802-846-4140 if you have questions, need a Zoom link to join remotely, or would like to be added to the email list for this group.
